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Tag Archives: soup

Yeah, so I went missing for a bit there, again. It’s annoying how life gets in the way of important things like personal grooming and blog posting. But, in what’s now become my classic pattern, I return from a hiatus with soup.

I’m not sure what it is about a bowl of soup that I have a hard time saying no to. There’s the feeling of warmth and comfort that rises with the steam, and I’m a total sucker for a good savory broth. It’s been odd weather around here recently, with ups and downs and windy bits, and this dinner totally hit the spot for us a few nights ago. It checks all of my weekday meal boxes: it’s damn delicious, healthy to boot, kid-friendly, uses a single pot, and is really quick (as soups go) with minimal human intervention needed. And to add to all of these already convincing reasons, it tasted unusually amazing. Neither of us could put a finger on exactly why, but it just seemed weird that such a simple collection of ingredients could come together to taste so addictive. My husband thought it was the parmesan and kale that permeated the broth, I thought it was the lemon and white beans. Try it, and I think you’ll find we’re both right.

In a large soup pot, on low-medium heat, fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add the carrot and continue to fry for another minute. Add the vegetable stock, juice from one lemon, and beans and simmer for 5-7 minutes to soften the beans.

Add the pasta and parmesan cheese, and continue to simmer until the pasta is al dente, approximately 10 minutes. Add the kale and simmer until tender, and the pasta soft. At this point, you may need to add some boiling water to the soup, as some of the stock may have evaporated (1/2 – 1 cup should be sufficient).

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil on top, season with salt and pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Note on dried beans: if you have more foresight than I do and care to use dried beans, start with a cup of the dried white beans of your choice. Soak them overnight and drain. Increase the quantity of stock to 8 cups and proceed with the recipe, increasing the simmer time to about 40 minutes after adding in the beans, and before adding the pasta and cheese.

I’ve had an extremely prolific season in the kitchen. Winter does that to me. It brings out all those nesting instincts. One sniff of the chill in the air and poof! just like that, I’m craving soups, stews, casseroles and the rest of that warm/comforting catalog. Also, if you’re me, that includes a lot of warm desserts, but we’ll save that for another post.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been blogging nearly as much as I’ve been cooking, or eating. Which is a shame. But somewhere between dropping off/picking up a toddler and trying to put an infant to nap fifty five times a day, actually taking the time to WRITE about what I’ve been cramming in my mouth hasn’t happened. But this soup has the best of intentions to help remedy the problem. It’s got vegetables and protein, color and crunch. And – cherry on top – it tastes like Thai food, which should be an immediate win in your book. Because there’s only one thing better than hot soup on a cold day, and that’s Asian-ish hot soup on a cold day. The only annoying ingredient to locate here is kaffir lime leaves. But they’re worth hunting down for this recipe, and as I’ve discovered, freeze amazingly well.

Since this is yet another Ottolenghi recipe, yes, it’s tad on the fussy side with garnishes and such. Some days, even I wonder if it’s really necessary to make yet another shallot infused oil to drizzle over something. But in case you’re wondering, like I was, if you could just add shallots and chili to the soup instead of making an extra component…well, you could, but it would produce a soup that’s a bit of an also ran in as opposed to a winner. Which one do you want to be? (Side note: these bragging and competitive tendencies are in no way a reflection of the kind of parent I hope to be. Ahem.)

First make the chili oil. Heat 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a small saucepan. Add the shallot, garlic, ginger, chili, star anise, and curry powder and fry over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the shallot is soft. Add the tomato paste and cook gently for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining oil and the lemon zest and simmer very gently for 30 minutes. Leave to cool.

For the soup, bring a small pan of water to a boil and throw in the sugar snap peas. Cook for 90 seconds, drain, refresh under cod water, and set aside to dry. Once cool, cut them on the diagonal into thin slices.

Heat the sunflower oil in a large pot and add the onion. Cook over low heat, with a lid on, for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the onion is completely soft and sweet. Stir in the red curry paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the lemongrass, lime leaves, red lentils, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the lentils are completely soft.

Remove the soup from the heat and take out and discard the lemongrass and lime leaves. Use a blender to process the soup until it is completely smooth. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir. Return the soup to medium heat so all the flavors come together. Ladle into bowls, scatter the snap peas on top, sprinkle with the cilantro, and finish as much chili oil as you’d like.

Years ago, when we lived in Chicago, I embarked on a joint cooking adventure with my husband’s niece (hi Rathi!) to make borscht. We were super casual about it – you know, let’s make borscht tonight, we said as though we were the kind of people that made Ukrainian beet soup every day at 7pm. Ha! What seemed like four hours later (I kid, it was probably closer to three), we finally sat down to steaming hot bowls of soup complete with all the traditional toppings – sour cream, mashed potatoes, dill and the rest – and I’m not sure whether we were more thrilled to be eating what turned out to be a delicious soup, or just monumentally relieved to be done with the epic exercise that was our borscht recipe.

If we got together again now (which we really should, pronto), I would invite Rathi to pull up a chair and try my current version of borscht, which takes all of ten minutes to make once you’ve cooked the vegetables. And if you have a pressure cooker, aka the magical kitchen appliance that makes short work of everything, you’ll be done with the initial cooking stage in a flash. And the best part of this new version? It’s served cold, which makes it the perfect summer soup. The new gazpacho, so to speak. So, get those ideas of sweating over long-simmering stews out of your head and get with this new program, where borscht means a delicious mix of beets, cucumbers, potatoes, green onions and chopped boiled eggs, all suspended in a shockingly pretty pink buttermilk base. Cool refreshing, and just the thing for the sunny days that we now have in spades. You are most welcome.

Put the washed beets and the potato in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Cook, covered, at a low boil until a knife inserted into the potato goes in without resistance (should take about 20 minutes) The beets will take longer, but should submit to the same knife test. (Time can vary according to size and freshness of the beets.) Alternately, if you are smart enough to own a pressure cooker, halve the potatoes and beets and cook them in separate containers, for 4 and 8 whistles respectively. Drain and cool until easy to handle. In a separate pot, hard-boil the eggs. Drain and cool the eggs. Wash the scallions and grate the cucumber.

When the beets have cooled sufficiently, peel them and grate them on the large holes of a box grater. Put the grated beets into a large soup bowl or pot. Peel and dice the eggs and the potato. Add both to the beets. Slice the scallions and add to the beets. Add the grated cucumber.

Mix the strained yogurt into the vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste. Then add the kefir or buttermilk and the water. Mix carefully, cover and put in the fridge to let the flavors meld. Serve cold from the fridge. WE enjoyed this with a little crumbled feta on top, which is not traditional but totally yummy.

This is the perfect warming winter soup. The recipe comes from Charlie Trotter and I decided to make this soup again recently as a tribute to him. He was a brilliantly talented chef who suddenly passed away last month. My husband and I visited his namesake restaurant in Chicago almost seven years ago, and I remember being awestruck by my surroundings. It was the first time I had eaten in a restaurant that required dinner jackets! We felt a little out of place, but the service was warm and informal (a nice contrast to the setting), so we were soon at ease. The food was amazing, each course more beautiful than the last, with flavor combinations that were both unique and familiar. It was a meal we would remember for a long time to come.

This wild rice onion soup is a typical example of the way Trotter put recipes together. There are not too many ingredients – it’s really just rice and onions, which doesn’t sound too enticing. The onions cook for a long time over low heat, drawing out their sweetness. The flavors are delicate, and there’s a lovely contrast in textures from the chewy wild rice, tender onions, and crispy toast croutons. The blue cheese is the perfect cherry on top. I LOVE blue cheese, but I know it’s an acquired taste. If it’s not your thing, try another soft and not-too-sharp cheese instead. I can’t promise the results will be as good, though.

Cook the wild rice in a small saucepan according to package directions. Usually, 2 cups of water is the amount needed for 1/2 cup wild rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a very low simmer and cover the pot. Let it cook, undisturbed, until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 50 to 55 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the bottom of a 4- to 5-quart saucepan over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and season the onions with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for another 15 to 25 minutes, until they are tender, limp and sweet. Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Wrap the herbs in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen string. Drop it into the soup and simmer an additional 10 minutes or so. Remove the bundle carefully. Adjust seasonings with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush both sides of the baguette slices with oil. Bake on a baking sheet until light golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. While the croutons are still warm, spread them with blue cheese.

To serve, divide the rice among four bowls, and ladle broth and onions on top. Float two croutons in the center of each bowl, and sprinkle with more pepper. Eat immediately.